If you've been living with your boyfriend/girlfriend for 15+ years...

@SW-User Can't it be non-expensive?

@FCNantes it can be . No ring,no wedding Just get the marriage license and sign the documents but what’s the point?

@SW-User Tax. The simulation of meaningfulness.

@FCNantes well,around here if you’re in a common law relationship,it’s pretty much legally identical to marriage.

@SW-User I got married at City Hall. It was very inexpensive. When I was widowed, having been married made all the difference in the world, legally. 😞

@SW-User Those are not legal in the U.S.

@bijouxbroussard 4 years of common law relationship pretty much equals to marriage around here. Especially if kids are involved. I don’t know anyone who got widowed so I can’t contribute anything useful on that one but i do know a lot of people who got separated (including myself)

@bijouxbroussard the couple and two witnesses and a marriage license all you need to get legally married around here

@SW-User It’s different here. One of the reasons gays and lesbians fought so hard for the right to legally marry is because certain legal privileges come with it automatically. Civil unions weren’t enough. I remember in the 80s when friends were dying and their families refused to let their partners even see them. And I knew of several cases where families of one partner changed the locks on homes gay couples co-owned and took possession of the belongings inside.
Marital laws prevented that.

@bijouxbroussard yeah,canada is a bit more open minded. That sounds horrible. A couple is a couple. Genders don’t matter

@SW-User That’s what I did, years ago. We had decided that we didn’t want to waste money on all the bells and whistles. That was what we considered unnecessary.